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Northrop tanker motion denied – Updated

Northrop just announced that the Government Accountability Office has
denied motions filed by it and the Air Force calling for a partial dismissal of Boeing’s protest of the tanker decsion.

Northrop says the denial of its motion came “after a supplemental filing by Boeing
Corporation that streamlined its original protest and eliminated many of the
elements that were central to the Air Force and Northrop Grumman motions.”

It’s not clear what Boeing may have removed from its original filing.

“Boeing’s decision to abandon the public relations rhetoric contained in
its original protest filings is in keeping with our motion,” said Randy
Belote, Northrop Grumman vice president of corporate and international
communications. “We are encouraged that the company has streamlined its
approach. We remain convinced that the Air Force process that led to Northrop
Grumman’s selection was fair, open and transparent, and we look forward to
assisting the Air Force defend its selection decision before the GAO.”

UPDATE:

Boeing says it has no idea what Northrop is talking about. This is the Boeing response.

We have no idea of the basis of the Northrop Grumman statement. We continue to press every ground in our original appeal. We have neither abandoned nor narrowed any ground. In fact, our supplemental filings have added additional grounds to our original filing based on the information we have received from the Air Force since filing our protest on March 11. Any assertion to the contrary is a blatant attempt to misrepresent the facts.

Boeing also had this to say about the GAO denial of the Northrop and Air Force motions:

The GAO has denied both the Air Force’s and Northrop Grumman’s motions to dismiss our claims. This decision is consistent with our view that full consideration of all appeal grounds is warranted. We view today’s decision by the GAO as a significant development in our appeal of the tanker decision.

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